According to Egyptologists, the Benben stone played a huge role in the formation of the entire worldview of the Egyptians. The history of its origin is shrouded in complete darkness and many legends. Some consider it a gift from heaven, others - the legacy of a long-lost super-civilization.
This unique artifact was found in a temple complex dedicated to the Phoenix. The stone and the bird are closely related and both are a symbol of a new birth and the isolation of time.
Ancient Egyptian sculptors painted a phoenix in the shape of a gray heron. And each of its appearance marked the start of a renewed cycle or era. Therefore, the beginning of the Benben cult is considered the first appearance of the Phoenix. The root "ben" is translated as fertilization, so most likely Benben was the heavenly "seed" of the bird.
According to the assurances of modern Egyptologists, the originally sacred Benben stone had a conical shape. They made this conclusion after having studied the most ancient images, where the Phoenix sits on a stone.
There is a theory that Benben is something other than a processed iron meteor. After all, there is such a category of meteorites, which, when entering the dense layers of the atmosphere, do not acquire rotation, but continue to fly in a static position. Thus, they melt and, after impact and cooling, acquire a conical shape.
Striking examples of this explanation are the asteroids Morito and Willamette. In principle, the cult of meteorite worship was widespread in many territories. For example, the sacred stone of all Muslims is the Kaaba.
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There is a legend according to which there was a sacred hill in Heliopolis, it was from there that our Luminary first rose. It was at this place that the ancient Egyptians built a column. Further, instead of an ear, the Benben stone was installed, which served as the progenitor of all the great pyramids built later.
To this day, it is not known what crowned the great pyramid of Djoser. There is only speculation that they were supposedly copies of the conical Benben, the so-called Pyramidions. Quite a few of them have been found recently, but the true purpose of their installation remains unknown. But more and more confidence is growing that the pyramid is not only the tomb of the pharaohs, but a much more complex and mysterious structure.